Our Story
What started as a longing for the flavours of home became LAYALI — a Turkish restaurant now serving Beach Road and Kampong Gelam.
Layali is the Arabic word for “nights” — the long, generous evenings when a table fills with plates, tea is poured again and again, and nobody is in a hurry to leave. That is the spirit our kitchen is built on: food cooked patiently over real fire, and hospitality that keeps the night going.
Our chefs press hand-minced kafta onto wide skewers, bake mankoushe and Arabic bread to order, and slide baklava into the oven tray by tray. Nothing here is rushed, and nothing comes from a shortcut. When you sit down at LAYALI, you taste a recipe of place and memory — the Levant, carried to the heritage shophouses of Kampong Gelam.
Open late, every night
Daily 10:00am – 1:00am
The BeginningA fire lit from homesicknessOur first kitchen opened in Kampong Gelam with a simple promise: charcoal-grilled food the way it is made back home — hand-minced kebabs, bread from a stone oven, and meze stirred fresh every morning.
Growing RootsArab Street becomes homeAs our community grew, so did our table. Word spread along Arab Street and Bussorah Street — families, office crowds, and travellers found their way to our tables, and many never left.
TodayOne table, one storyFrom quick weekday lunches to weddings for two hundred guests, our promise has never changed: quality ingredients, honest cooking over real fire, and service that feels personal.
Kampong Gelam
Our flagship dining room and alfresco terrace in the heart of the heritage district — steps from Sultan Mosque. Full menu, family-style dining, open daily 10:00am – 1:00am.